The Elf Amongst Dwarves
by uoduck
Summary: Harry dies at the ripe old age of 125 and is reborn as an elf at the beginning of the second age. He lives in Mirkwood under the rule of King Thranduil. He's lived a long time and wants to travel through Arda until one day a hobbit tugs on his tunic and quietly informs him that the dwarves are ill. This will be Bilbo/Thorin and Harry/Fili/Kili.
1. Chapter 1

Bilbo hurried after the elf he had chosen, quietly and not too fast but not too slow. The elf had long black hair with silvery strands through it and had good sturdy armor on(though Bilbo wasn't an expert on armor) and a bow strapped to his back with a quiver full of had been a long two weeks and Thorin had finally acquiesced to him finding a healer. The dwarves had become ill in the last few days and the elves that were guarding them weren't doing anything to help. It was like the Elven King hadn't even remembered that he had dwarves in his dungeon.

He followed the elf that he had chosen to go to for help; he had wanted to make sure his choice was a good one. There was just something about this one that felt like he was the one to go to. And in the last couple of hours, the elf hadn't been alone; he had been with Prince Legolas and the one ginger haired elf(Bilbo had been too far way to hear her name).

He thought it weird how he had come to walk alongside Thorin or fall asleep next to him and wake up wrapped in his arms. Thorin had gone from utterly ignoring him to asking if he was okay at the end of each traveling day. And the couple of nights that they had spent in Beorn's home... Bilbo had never thought he would fall in love over the duration of their journey but he had. And now to see them all pale and sickly, sweat and the remains of vomit in the cells was too much for him. To see Thorin in that condition was heartbreaking for him and the dwarf had finally told to Bilbo to find a healer. Bilbo, the only one that wasn't in captivity, the one that could blend into the shadows at will. Bilbo, the hobbit who had saved his life on that cliff.

He finally gathered up the courage to approach the dark haired elf and looked around them to make sure they were alone before pulling the ring off. He was always glad to pull the ring off; it always made him want to curl up and give up. And he always enjoyed seeing the world in color again. These days, those times were few and far between; the only times he could take the ring off were when he was absolutely sure he was alone and that wasn't much.

"Excuse me, sir," Bilbo hesitantly murmured.

The elf startled visibly then turned around, glancing for the speaker. Bilbo tugged on the tunic that he could grasp, pulling the elf down.

"Down here," Bilbo again murmured.

The elf looked down at the fingers pulling at his tunic, finally seeing the creature that was talking to him. Bilbo could see his green eyes widen at the sight that met him.

"What... How? Oh, you're that hobbit that King Thranduil was talking about. How did I not see you?" the elf questioned in a soft tone, kneeling to be at the same level with Bilbo. Bilbo could hear the tip of his bow hit the floor with a soft thunk. The elf was looking at him very curiously, raising his eyebrows. "Is there some sort of magic that halflings have?"

"Uh," Bilbo started then narrowed his eyes at the elf. "It's hobbit to you; we are not half of anything!" It probably wasn't a good idea to reveal the source of his invisibility to an elf; he didn't want anyone to question him about it, so Bilbo didn't answer the question.

"Pardon me then. I'm sorry," the elf responded, dipping his head in apology.

"You don't have to tell me," the elf replied after a minute, grinning. "I know what it's like to have secrets. And nor am I going to bring you to our King, you obviously are looking for a way out for you and the dwarves."

"I never agreed with the king's command that they be kept in the dungeons, anyway," Bilbo heard the elf mutter underneath his breath.

"Yeah," Bilbo began. "About that..."

"Yes?" the elf replied, softly, questioning.

"I need your help," Bilbo stated. "Three of the dwarves are ill and they need a healer."

The elf suddenly gasped, bringing a hand up to pinch his nose then looked Bilbo straight in the eyes. "How long have they been ill?"

"It's been a week," Bilbo said in reply.

"A week?"

Bilbo blushed, "They're dwarves; they're stubborn."

"How bad are they?"

"They're in a bad way; I think you need to see them."

"Okay, and what may I call you?" the elf asked patiently.

"Bilbo Baggins, at your service."

"And you may call me Hannor, perian."

"Hmm?" Bilbo asked. He had always wanted to learn Sindarin and now wasn't exactly a good time but still... Thorin had promised to teach him Khuzdul too once they had retaken Erebor.

"Perian means hobbit in our language," Hannor replied.

"Oh," Bilbo remarked.

Hannor looked at him for a minute or two, studying. "You should take me to the dwarves. It would be best if I could see their symptoms myself."

"Right, follow me."

"Bilbo, if I may call you that," Hannor began. Bilbo nodded at him in acknowledgment. "You should probably become invisible again."

Bilbo blinked in confusion. "But you won't be able to see me if I do."

"I have a few secrets of my own." Hannor grinned at him then gestured for him to lead the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry cast a tracking spell on Bilbo then followed the little hobbit, giving a quiet sigh. He should have known to step up his, Legolas and Tauriel's plan. Now that he knew they were ill, it probably would be best to get them out now or as soon as possible. His king, be damned; the dwarves would never surrender and stop their plans to retake Erebor. It would be best to go with them and make sure they would be okay.

Another thing: he wasn't aware that hobbits could become invisible. How did Bilbo manage it? And, why hadn't anyone told him, Legolas or Tauriel about the dwarves becoming ill? Either no one had noticed and was not paying attention or they just plain didn't care. As they walked down into the dungeons, Harry stopped to talk with the guards. As they knew him, they could spare to give him twenty minutes alone. He waved them off and followed the tracking spell down into the cell block.

One minute all he saw were the cells and the next Bilbo was standing in front of them. Harry canceled the tracking spell and padded down to stand next to him. He walked over to grab the keys from the desk and unlocked the cells that Bilbo gestured to. Harry could hear groaning and in one instance, vomiting.

Harry set down his bow and quiver and quickly cast a cleaning spell on both of them and a charm that would protect both of them if this was contagious. Bilbo startled a little at suddenly being clean and glanced up at him. Harry smiled reassuringly at the hobbit, who shakily grinned saw Bilbo walk up to one of the open cell doors that contained the dwarves.

"Thorin! I found an elf who can help you," Bilbo called out.

Harry heard coughing then he saw who he remembered was the last dwarf the guards had brought in, the one who was apparently the leader. Thorin Oakenshield, if he remembered correctly. Though this time, he was very pale and white and he had dark bags underneath his eyes. Harry saw the dwarf glance at Bilbo blearily then blink when he realized the door was open.

Thorin moved to stand at the entryway and was about to walk out when he swayed in place. Harry saw Bilbo hurry to position himself under one of Thorin's arms and glance back at Harry. Thorin glanced up at Harry, with an assessing gaze.

"And you are?" Thorin asked, voice raspy.

"I am known as Hannor, one of the Elven guard," Harry replied. He usually gave his elvish name to people he wasn't familiar with; the only people who knew his past name were the prince and Tauriel, as they were friends. "I am also a healer."

Thorin turned to Bilbo. "You trust him?"

Bilbo glanced up at Harry. "I... yes, something within me trusts him."

Harry nodded in thanks. "I can, among other things, help get you guys out of here, too."

Both Thorin and Bilbo startled. "How?" Thorin asked gruffly.

"I have a plan already in place with Prince Legolas and the captain of the guard, Tauriel," Harry replied. "But a few things need to be tweaked if your dwarrows are ill."

He took a few steps toward Bilbo and Thorin and crouched on his feet. "May I start?"

Thorin glanced at Bilbo who nodded then at Harry. "Very well. I shall grudgingly trust you for now."

Harry reached out with his magic, casting a diagnostic charm on the dwarf. The results appeared in his mind: this was the result of spider poisoning.

"Your company was taken by spiders?" Harry asked, attention half on Thorin and half on the results.

"Yes, we were. Our burglar here got us out," Thorin replied, glancing at Bilbo with a fond gaze. Harry saw the hobbit blush once again and smiled.

"It appears the poison the spiders used is still in your body. I just need to flush it out," Harry replied.

"And how will you do that, might I ask?" Bilbo asked, a little curious.

Harry sighed, but looked at the two. If he was planning on joining their quest then he would have to tell them sometime. "Other elves would call me curunír. Men would call me a wizard in westron. Your kind," he gestured at Thorin, "would call me zigral."

Bilbo gasped, his mouth dropping open in awe. "You're a wizard? But Gandalf didn't list you when he recalled the amount of wizards!"

"I am no Istari," Harry replied. "Only my friends know of my nature."

"So you are like Tharkún?" Thorin asked, sleepily. "Where's your staff?"

"Yes," Harry responded. "I don't use a staff. I don't need one to focus my magic, though I do have a wand."

"Okay, I'm going to heal you now," Harry started. "It won't hurt him." He reassured Bilbo when he gave him a questioning look. He knelt down to be at eye level with Thorin and Bilbo.

Thorin nodded. Harry slowly reached out his magic to clean and heal the dwarrow; washing out the poison and aiding Thorin's own body to heal on its' own. As he was near to 400 years old, it didn't take much effort to focus and guide the healing magic. After a couple of minutes, he pulled his magic back into his body and opened his eyes.

Thorin had fallen asleep, leaning on Bilbo's shoulder, who was also swaying now. Though, if Harry had to guess, it was from exhaustion, not from a spider bite. The hobbit's eyes were bloodshot and he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Here, let me take him," Harry held out his arms for the dwarrow.

Bilbo opened his already closed eyes and widened them. "Will he be okay?"

"He'll be fine, perian. He only needs rest and so do you," Harry softly replied and watched as Bilbo gave a sigh of relief. "I'll tend to the others now."

"See to his nephews first," Bilbo slurred out. "They're the worst off."

Bilbo let Harry take Thorin and slid against the cell wall himself, falling asleep almost immediately. Harry smiled and lay Thorin right next to Bilbo and watched as Thorin sleepily lifted an arm for Bilbo to tuck himself under. Harry cast a small warming charm on the two of them and walked back to the main row of cells.

"Right, his nephews," Harry muttered. He glanced back at the entry to the dungeons to check that they were still alone and they were. Harry pulled out the elder wand, which had come with him, and cast the patronus charm. The now familiar translucent great eagle flew from his wand and stood before him, patiently waiting for orders.

"Get Legolas and Tauriel over here please. Tell them we need to get the dwarrows out now or soon. And to bring medical supplies," Harry told his patronus. "And don't be seen by anyone else." He watched as it took off down the hallway and up to where the two elves would likely be.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry wandered over to where the main cells were, as someone had ordered that the dwarrow's leader be kept in a different area than the group. He was about to open all of the cells with a flick of his wrist, but he heard murmuring from the hallway that lead up to the throne room.

"Harry, you there?"

He gave a sigh of relief and said back, "Tauriel, I'm over here!"

"We heard your messenger," Legolas said as soon as he came into view. The two of them walked over to Harry. "You were the one to heal Thorin Oakenshield?"

"Yeah, we definitely need to speed up our plans," Tauriel commented, glancing between the dwarves in the cells and Harry. She glanced at Legolas. "Did you see the perian and the dwarf tucked up against each other?"

"Yes, I saw it," Legolas remarked. "I've never seen the like. A dwarf and a hobbit together."

"Yes, that was me. Did you guys at least bring your healing supplies? Because there are 13 dwarves and I can't heal everyone at the same time."

"I brought mine," Legolas said, glancing at Tauriel. "You brought yours' right?"

"Of course I did," Tauriel huffed in bemusement. "I also told one of my warriors to ready the horses and another to assemble the dwarrows' weapons and armor at the meeting point. As soon as we're able, we can leave. Though, Hannor, you're on your own for your horse. Luna doesn't answer to anyone but you."

Harry rolled his eyes at the banter between the two. "Yeah, I think that's partly me and partly the fact that she's one of the Mearas."

Legolas raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, okay, it's just me, isn't it?"

"Yep," Tauriel chuckled, then pulled out her supplies.

"We should split up for this," Legolas remarked. "Harry, what are the symptoms the dwarrows are feeling?"

"Oh, they're all suffering from the remains of spider poisoning," Harry replied. "It shouldn't take long to give them all an antidote. Assuming you two have plenty to split amongst 12 dwarrows?"

Tauriel shook her head but glanced at Legolas who nodded. "Here, Tauriel, share some of mine."

Harry opened the rest of the cells and without a word, he walked into one at random. The dwarrow in this cell had golden brown hair, though it was very messy, like he hadn't brushed it in a while. He also looked like one of the younger dwarves, as there was no grey or white in his hair. The dwarf was on the ground and sweating profusely, tossing and turning.

He walked over and knelt at the dwarrow's side, gently shaking him awake. "Echuio."

"What... who are you?" the dwarf asked, voice hoarse.

"I am Hannor, a healer," Harry replied. "And who are you, one with such fair hair?"

Harry watched as the dwarrow visibly blushed. "I'm Fíli."

"Ah, I knew you looked familiar. You are one of Thorin Oakenshield's nephews, right?"

"Is he okay? And my brother? Is he okay too?" Fíli asked, coughing mid breath.

Harry drew out a glass and wordlessly cast a spell to pour water into it, along with adding some antidote into it. "Here, this should help with your illness."

Fíli looked at him suspiciously, but then quirked an eyebrow and nodded. He slowly moved to get up but swayed in place. Harry reached out an arm to steady the dwarf and handed him the glass of water.

He reached out with his magic while Fíli drank, drawing out the poison and giving a little ounce of energy to the dwarf.

"Which dwarrow is your brother?" Harry asked.

"That one," Fíli said, pointing to space behind Harry. "Kíli... Always too stubborn for his own good."

Harry turned around and caught the other dwarf just as his knees buckled.

"I had to make sure you were okay, nadad," Kíli said against Harry's chest. "Wait, you're not my brother, unless Fíli grew while we were separated." Harry chuckled but handed the younger one off to his brother.

"No, I'm most certainly not," Harry murmured.

"Kíli, have one of the elves seen to your illness?" Fíli asked, voice no longer hoarse, arms going around his brother. Both of the dwarrows were looking better; they were no longer pale and sweating.

"Yeah, the one with the ginger hair," Kíli replied, drowsily. "Tauriel, I think. Fee, I don't ever want to be separated from you again."

Fíli rolled his eyes, but looked at his brother fondly as he fell asleep. "We won't." Then he looked at Harry with a mock accusing look. "Did your friend really have to drug him?"

Harry snickered. "Is he always like this when he's drugged? Cuddly and unfettered?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Fíli replied.

Harry stood up, "Will you two be okay here? I need to go tend to the others."

"We will," Fíli said. "Are our uncle and burglar okay?"

"They're fine," Harry replied, standing up. "My friends and I will be helping you guys get out of here in a couple of hours."

"Oh?" Fíli asked. "How?"

"Most of the important elves are attending a dinner party," Harry started. "If you guys hadn't gotten ill, Bilbo probably would have used tonight to get you out. But, hopefully, we'll get out through the front gate."

* * *

At last, only an hour or so later, the three of them finished tending to the dwarrows. For the most part, the dwarves were tired but wanting to get out of Mirkwood. Only a couple of them were asleep, namely Kíli, Ori and Bilbo. Harry knew that Thorin had picked up Bilbo, so that was one thing taken care walked up to where Legolas and Tauriel were standing; Legolas was standing near the hallway that lead to the throne room and keeping watch.

"Harry, I'll lead the way out. You're taking the rear, right?" Tauriel asked.

"Yeah, sure. Legolas, you ready?" Harry turned to glance at the other elf.

"Yes, I am. I'll go keep an eye on my father and meet you tonight. I hope you know, I'm making a great sacrifice for you guys. It was nice knowing you." Both Harry and Tauriel snickered in amusement. Their friend wasn't much for his fathers' parties; he wanted to get out of Mirkwood and see Arda.

"Okay, dwarrows to the right," Tauriel gestured toward the entryway leading to more cells. Harry watched as she started to lead the dwarves down to the secret passage way the three of them had discovered when they were growing up together.

He waited until everyone was in front of him, picked up his bow and quiver, strapped them to his back, and followed them. Harry padded after them, light and quiet like a feather, only to stop behind Kíli, who had awoken a couple of minutes ago, was standing with an asleep Fíli wrapped in his arms.

"Kíli, do you want me to carry him?" Harry asked.

The dwarf looked up at him. "Okay, just don't do anything elfish."

"Elfish?" Harry clapped a hand to his mouth to stop any laughter coming out.

"Uncle Thorin said that elves are not to be trusted," Kíli replied. "And you're an elf."

"That won't be a problem with me," Harry said, taking his hand away after he had gotten his urge to laugh under control.

* * *

AN: Translations:  
Echuio(sindarin): awake  
Perian(sindarin): hobbit  
nadad(Khuzdul): brother


	4. Chapter 4

Harry picked up Fíli, settled him into his arms, and followed the rest of the dwarves out of the dungeons. He saw that the dwarves' weapons were already gone; one of Tauriel's soldiers had probably already picked them up and dropped them off beyond the gate. Harry was walking behind one of the other younger dwarrows, Ori, if Harry had heard correctly and Kíli was walking right alongside him.

They followed Tauriel out through the dungeons and quietly past the many hallways that made up the Elven King's dwelling. There weren't many elves walking around, as they were mostly at the annual autumn party tonight. They passed some guards near where the party was held but for the most part, they were as drunk as elves could be. Harry saw Tauriel scowling at them and figured that they would get reprimanded later, at least after this was all over.

As they walked past the throne room, Harry glanced into it before shooing each dwarf past the doorway when King Thranduil wasn't looking their way. However, Legolas was doing his job perfectly well, distracting his father from glancing out the door. So they basically succeeded in getting off without anyone noticing. Though, he felt Kíli bump into him, probably from exhaustion, and he would have reached down to steady him had his arms not been full. As it was, he walked a bit closer to the dwarrow after that to provide a soft landing if Kíli ever fell asleep while walking.

Once they all managed to leave the Elven King's halls, Harry breathed a sigh of relief and heard Kíli do the same. Then they quickly hurried past each residence and as soon as they reached the gate, Harry saw that the gate had been left open enough that a couple of dwarves could go through. And he heard whinnying and quite whispering on the other side. He watched as Tauriel led the dwarrows through the gate and as soon as they were all through, Harry released a bit of magic to close the gate. He didn't agree with his king's actions but that didn't mean he wanted to leave the gate open and Mirkwood open to attack from the increasing darkness of the woods.

He looked up past the group of dwarrows to see Tauriel talking with one of her guards. The guard also had a saddle and a bridle in his arms, along with the smaller straps and other accoutrements of riding. Harry could also see the pile of dwarvish weapons, including one big elvish sword. There were also two horses ground tied near the weapons and knowing Tauriel and Legolas, the horses would stay put. Harry followed the dwarves up to the pile and watched them start to pull on their different sets of armor and weapons that had been taken when they were captive.

He walked over to Kíli who was grabbing a bow and a quiver with arrows in it. Though, once he had stopped before the dwarves, he heard groaning from Fíli, who was starting to move. Harry knelt beside Kíli and allowed Fíli to slide out of his arms. The dwarves around them were starting to fully wake up, blinking their eyes open a couple of times and stretching. It made sense that they were groggy, as they had been sick for a couple of days before Bilbo had found Harry.

"You brought our weapons!" Fíli exclaimed quietly. Harry nodded bemusedly then stood up and went over to talk with Tauriel, passing Thorin who had a now awake Bilbo in an embrace. He smiled at them then moving to stand with Tauriel, he gave a loud whistle which startled the dwarves.

"What'd you do that for?!"

"You could have alerted Thranduil to our escape!" Harry quirked an eyebrow at the dwarf who had yelled that.

"Quiet down," Thorin barked at them, having pulled apart from Bilbo. "Do you want to wake the whole city?" Harry watched as Thorin stood but was distracted by a loud whinny. He smiled and went to stand near the forest and apart from the group. He was aware of the dwarves turning to watch him. Tauriel grinned at him knowingly then went to instructing the guard.

He heard the galloping hooves before he saw her and sighed in contentment when Luna finally appeared in the clearing. She was a big black mare, one of the Mearas, and his companion in this world. Well, other than Tauriel and Legolas. She slowed to a trot and then to a walk as she came up to him and Harry finished the distance between them and touched his head to her forehead briefly.

He pulled apart after a minute to the staring of the dwarves. He saw Bilbo whispering amongst them, describing what kind of horse Luna was and walked to where the guard had deposited the saddle and bridle. He usually didn't need to use them, as he was quite excellent at bare-back riding but for this journey, he didn't want to put more stress on her back than was needed. He felt Luna follow him and he smiled.

He went about putting the saddle on, along with the pad then the bridle and the chest strap that went on. As soon as he was finished, he turned around only to see Thorin staring at him with a stern look.

"We have no need of your help anymore, elf," Thorin replied, lifting his chin and crossing his arms.

"But uncle!" Kíli yelled.

"Kíli," Fíli muttered, swinging out an arm to pull his brother to a standstill. Fíli had the same displeased expression on his face that his brother did.

"Thorin!" Bilbo implored. "He can help us!"

"No," Thorin ordered, looking at Harry with distrust. "We've come this far and this was just one slip-up. We're dwarves; we have no need of further help from khuthûzh."

"Pe-channas!" Tauriel muttered. Harry rolled his eyes at her and luckily, none of the dwarves knew elvish because Tauriel just insulted their leader.

"Lads, listen to your uncle." Harry saw the dwarf with the bald head walk up to stand beside Thorin. The dwarf stared at him with the same distrust as Thorin was, maybe more so.

Harry sighed and turned to Tauriel, who shrugged and mouthed, _It's your call._

He turned back to Thorin, who was still gazing at him. "Very well. I will respect your wishes on this matter. Just be careful to not go off the path. Galu."

He saw Bilbo's disappointed expression turn to a enquiring one at his elvish word. "It means good luck."

Harry, Tauriel and Luna watched as the dwarrows and one hobbit started to move off and Harry watched to make sure they stayed on the path. Though Fíli and Kíli tarried for a second and looked longingly at Harry who winked at them both. Harry chuckled when they both flushed and started to smile, albeit very small smiles. He gestured toward the forest.

"Go, you two don't want to get left behind," Harry remarked.

He watched as the two dwarves turned to quickly catch up to their company and turned around at Tauriel clearing her throat.

"What?!" Harry exclaimed in response to Tauriel's smirk.

"I haven't seen you this interested in someone else ever," Tauriel remarked.

Harry groaned. "Suddenly, I regret all my life choices, starting with having you as a friend."

"But you're not upset that I'm interested in a couple of dwarves?" Harry said hesitantly.

"No," Tauriel replied with a soft tone. "I am not. You know I only want you happy."

Harry nodded. "Thanks."

Tauriel grinned then looked to where the dwarves had taken off. "Are we just going to let them go like that?"

"No, of course not! Something in my heart tells me that they're going to need us. So, we'll just wait for Legolas to get here then we'll follow them," Harry replied. "Quietly."

"I knew it," Tauriel murmured, going to sit down at the base of a tree. It was already half-past midnight, so hopefully, they wouldn't need to wait long.

* * *

AN: Elvish and Khuzdul Translations:

khuthûzh(Khuzdul)- elves  
Pe-channas!(Sindarin)- idiot  
Galu(Sindarin)- good luck/good bye


	5. Chapter 5

The two of them waited for a couple of hours, content to sit with the horses until their friend joined them. Harry heard the tell-tale footsteps of the prince and looked up from his spot next to Tauriel.

"I never want to do that again!" Legolas grumbled in exasperation.

"Ah, good, you're here," Tauriel said with a chuckle, as soon as they saw Legolas step into the clearing. The prince now had silver armor on and he had his usual quiver and bow strapped to his back, full of arrows. And Harry could see the tell-tale bulges of knives and daggers hidden on Legolas. Tauriel also had daggers hidden in her armor, too.

"Was it really that bad?" Harry asked, hiding a grin with his hands.

Legolas glared at both of them then after a minute, his glare softened into a grin.

Harry saw Legolas look around the clearing and blink a few times in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

"Thorin decided to go off without us," Harry replied, standing up and walking over to Luna, who was standing patiently near him.

"Hmm," Legolas remarked then stared at Harry with a knowing gaze. "Then I presume we are to follow them?"

"Yep," Harry declared with a grin. "Though we'll do it all quiet-like."

Harry went over to Luna and crouched at each of her hooves and cast a silencing spell on her then went to do the same with Tauriel and Legolas's horses. The other horses had already been tacked up so Tauriel and Legolas jumped lightly onto their horse's backs. Harry did the same after spelling their gear silent; the three of them would be entirely silent guardians.

It had been a good three hours since the dwarves had left them, so they started off at a trot, following the path that the dwarves took. Harry let Luna lead, so he could direct his attention to sensing anything that might prove to be a hindrance.

Mirkwood had become much more dangerous over the past fifty years or so. Spiders that were roughly the size of a horse had encroached on the forest. The forest itself had grown dark and dank, not a friendly place to be. And Harry had felt, all the way from Mirkwood, the castle known as Dol Guldur start to grow with dark magic. It worried him, and though he hadn't been around during the first age of Arda to experience the full might of Sauron, he feared the worst.

It was two hours and a half into their travels until they could begin to hear the dwarven company. Harry, Tauriel and Legolas slowed down at an unspoken agreement then when they could actually see the company, they slowed their horses to a walk. Since Harry was in the lead, he could see the last dwarf in the line, who was Kíli and then presumably Fíli in front of him.

He smiled at the thought of the two dwarrows then turned around in the saddle when he heard Legolas chuckle.

"What?" Harry exclaimed quietly, narrowing his eyes when Tauriel grinned at him.

"Tauriel was just telling me about your interest in the two dwarves," Legolas commented.

"Tauriel!" Harry yelled.

"What? You didn't tell me not to tell him!" Tauriel said, still grinning.

"Ugh, I don't know why I put up with you two," Harry grumbled in mock annoyance.

Legolas and Tauriel chuckled then Legolas turned serious. "I'm not going to object to you falling for two dwarrows."

"Well," Harry concluded. "Thanks."

"What! I wasn't not going to be fine with it; it's not like we grew up together!" Legolas teased. "Though, I would think you aren't going to get the approval of my father. I know you two have butted heads in the past."

"Frankly, I don't care about his approval, not when he ordered the dwarves be held in the dungeons and didn't do a damn thing about it when they started to get sick."

Legolas and Tauriel both frowned in thought at that.

"No offense meant to you, Legolas," Harry said belatedly, turning around in the saddle to look at the other elf. "He is your ada, after all."

"None taken," Legolas murmured. He grew quiet after that, pondering King Thranduil. Harry exchanged worried glances with Tauriel for a second; they had both noticed the way that Thranduil had withdrawn from his son over the past twenty years or so.

Harry turned back around in the saddle and noticed that his stomach was starting to grow hungry. They had packed food enough to get them to Lake-Town, so they would be fine for now. However, he was a little worried about the dwarves; the forest was bare of any animals that could be hunted for food. He had also packed his shrunken harp in one of his saddlebags, in case they had time for music during their travels.

Harry looked ahead at the dwarves, who seemed to be padding along well. They did seem to be in a hurry to get out of the forest, to which Harry knew the feeling. Luckily, they just had thirty minutes or so to go. A couple of the dwarrows had lit torches during the journey and were now just flickering out. He could hear increasingly loud mutters about going off the path due to not having enough light and, _could they please stop to rest?_

The three of them heard Thorin gruffly yell out that they would stop as soon as they got out of the forest. There were shouts of relief from the dwarves and at least one from the hobbit. Harry was still a bit unsure as to why Bilbo was with the company of dwarves in the first place and hopefully, there would be a time that he could ask the hobbit.

* * *

Harry, Tauriel, and Legolas watched as the dwarves plodded through the last few yards of the forest and down the last hill. Harry heard Legolas give a sigh of relief and they heard many of the dwarrows yell in relief too. They followed at a distance as the dwarves found a clearing to make camp in and then they pulled their horses to a stop still in the last few feet of the forest but still stayed at the top of the hill. All of their horses were not light colored for this exact reason, so there was no worry that the dwarrows would be able to see them.

Harry dismounted with a jump and started to untack Luna and pull his saddlebags off. He saw Legolas and Tauriel do the same, removing saddles and bridles. Harry walked around their temporary camp for the night to ward it. He wasn't about to have the loudness of fighting spiders carry over to the dwarven encampment.

"I'm going to go hunt," Legolas announced, nodding over to where they could see the dwarves. "I'll drop something edible off at the edge of their camp, too."

"Okay, thanks," Harry replied. "I was a bit worried about them."

"I'll come with you," Tauriel remarked, pulling her bow off her back. Harry lifted an eyebrow at her.

"There's nothing going on between us," Tauriel hissed at him, though her eyes were bemused.

"Yeah, sure there's not," Harry teased. "I'll be here then."

Harry made sure the horses had some hay to eat and water then sat down against the base of a tree and faced in the direction of the dwarrows. He would wait until nightfall then go make sure they were okay.

* * *

An hour or so later, Tauriel came back, looking like she had been successful. The moon had come up since then and night had fallen. And this time, they could actually tell it was night, as in the forest, it was very hard to tell whether it was night time or not. She was lugging a dead boar behind her and deposited it by the small fire that Harry had gotten burning.

"Legolas is taking the second boar we snagged over there," Tauriel mentioned, gesturing to the dwarves.

"Ah," Harry murmured, starting to skin the boar and cut it up into the appropriate cuts. He glanced every once and a while to the dwarven encampment and saw when Legolas placed the other dead boar at the edge of their camp. He heard a few shouts of joy and the more rotund dwarf with the ginger hair went straight over to it.

"Here, let me finish this," Tauriel cut in, smiling.

Harry turned back to the fire and saw that he hadn't moved his hands in a while. "If you're sure."

"Yeah, go keep watch."

"Thanks."

Harry walked over to the edge and sat down at the base of the same tree he had been at an hour ago. He watched as the apparent chef of the company started to do the same to their boar with the help of a few others, the one with the funny hat among them. He heard Legolas come back to the camp and sit down across from Tauriel. And as the night wore on, the dwarves split up into groups around the campfire. If he had to guess, each group was made up of family members and the obvious pairing of Bilbo and Thorin.

Fíli and Kíli were sitting near enough to their uncle and the hobbit and they all heartily ate their portions of the stew that the dwarf had made. Harry smiled at the two of them and just at that instant, the two of them looked up at the hill. Both Kíli and Fíli grinned back at him but schooled their expressions when Harry heard something from Thorin.


End file.
